On June 3, 1981, a mournful memorial service was solemnly held at the People's Congress in the Chinese capital. In addition to the more than 10,000 people in Beijing, there were also representatives of compatriots at home and abroad and central leaders, who gathered together to deeply mourn a woman, who was Song Qingling.
The scene of the memorial meeting was very solemn, and the huge portrait of Song Qingling hung high in the middle of the rostrum, and her kind and kind face kept staring at the guests, as if she had not gone far, still witnessing the rebirth and vitality of this ancient country.
This memorial service was of a very high standard, but no one "blamed", even the "thorn-headed elements" who liked to "provoke" the most on weekdays closed their "chattering" mouths at this moment, because everyone knew that Song Qingling deserved such a farewell from the Chinese people.
01, 10,000 people mourn: If she knew, she would also agree to 5 minutes in advance
The former Great Hall of the People was solemn and magnificent, but now it adds a little mourning. In the hall on the first floor, there are wreaths of condolences sent by leaders, heads of government, government representatives and people of various countries, embassies in China, social organizations, peaceful people, and foreign guests who happen to be visiting Beijing.
The central organs of China, the governments of various military regions, provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government, various democratic parties, and various mass groups have also sent wreaths; compatriots in Taiwan have also traveled thousands of miles to pay tribute to this woman who has dedicated most of her life to the rise of China.
Near the statue of Song Qingling, flowers and evergreen pines support her urn, and the Chinese party flag is gently covered on it, as if declaring to the world that the people of Chinese will always be grateful for her efforts and contributions, and Chinese history will always remember everything about her.
Wreaths presented by Chen Shuying, a relative of Song Qingling, and others are also placed here, implying that the love of the family will accompany her for a long time.
The memorial service was presided over by Hu Yaobang, and Deng Xiaoping, who was in his twilight years, read out a eulogy. At exactly 4 p.m. on the same day, the mourning activities officially began.
As the quiet sound fell, the People's Liberation Army regiment immediately played a mourning music, and the whole audience stood solemnly and silently for 3 minutes. The national anthem music sounded, and Deng Xiaoping came out to the rostrum and read the eulogy word by word in his usual voice with his native accent.
After the eulogy, the whole audience unanimously bowed to the statue of Song Qingling. Once again, the military band played the Internationale. On that day, the capital and all over the country lowered the flag to half-mast to mourn Song Qingling, and the people of the whole country spontaneously stopped the entertainment activities and sent her away in silence.
The next morning, in accordance with Song Qingling's last wishes, the central leaders headed by Deng Yingchao specially escorted her ashes back to Shanghai, where Song Qingling most cherished, and buried her in the Cemetery of All Nations where her parents were buried.
On that day, the scorching sun of June shone on the earth, and the temperature in Shanghai was as hot as ever. Deng Yingchao, Ulanfu and others arrived in Hongqiao by special plane from Beijing and took a car to the Cemetery of All Nations.
Li Jiachi accompanied him throughout the whole process and asked Deng Yingchao to go to the VIP room for a temporary rest. But Deng Yingchao refused. She asked for the time and said to Li Jiazi: "Don't wait for 10 o'clock, the funeral will start directly, it's too hot, the old people and students have been waiting for a long time." ”
Li Jiazhuo hesitated slightly, and Deng Yingchao continued: "If Comrade Song Qingling had known about Quanxia, he would also agree, so go and prepare." ”
At the insistence of Deng Yingchao, the funeral was held 5 minutes ahead of schedule. This kind of humane and flexible handling made the masses present on the day feel very deeply. The national report is also very humane, without marking the specific time, only writing about the morning held.
In fact, Deng Yingchao really knows Song Qingling's character very well, she has always been such a kind and kind lady, never willing to trouble others and hurt others because of herself. Even if she is about to come to the end of her life, Song Qingling still has her responsibility in mind.
02, the last time: The last time she returned to Shanghai, she completed a lot of things
At the end of 1978, the 86-year-old Song Qingling suddenly made a request to go home and see. The so-called "home" is Shanghai. She once said, "To go to Beijing is to work, and to go to Shanghai is to go home." ”
Song Qingling's residence in Shanghai is located in Huaihai Middle Road, is a small Western-style villa covering an area of about 4,300 square meters, the overall appearance of the house is like a boat, the main building is 3 stories high, the garden has Song Qingling's favorite pigeon house and pigeon pavilion, and there are more than 10 snow-white pigeons.
She has high requirements for the cleanliness of the environment, the garden is very tidy, and there are camphor trees specially designated by Song Qingling.
The staff there consists mainly of three people. The life administrator is the fourth, named Zhou Hekang, from 1956 to Song Qingling's side, until her death, with a diligent work attitude by Song Qingling's trust and satisfaction, personal nanny is Li Yan'e and Zhong Xingbao, of which Li Yan'e is the default housekeeper in the Shanghai villa.
In late December of that year, Li Jiazhi led the first to go to Song Qingling's apartment to check the relevant preparations, prepare the special car in advance, and meet with the chef, green worker and other people, and told them to take good care of Song Qingling.
On December 30, the central government sent a special plane to send Song Qingling to Shanghai. Zhang Suping and Li Jiazhi went to Hongqiao to greet her arrival and immediately sent her back to the apartment.
At 4:30 p.m., the two visited the door again, and Song Qingling was very happy and sat on the living room sofa to entertain them. She told the two that she would be staying in Shanghai for about two or three months, spending New Year's Day and Spring Festival in Shanghai, and sorting out some things that might require their help. Zhang Suping and Li Jiachi gladly agreed, promising to complete the task.
On New Year's Day 1979, Song Qingling held a small celebration dinner at his home and invited relevant leaders from Shanghai to attend. They exchanged New Year's greetings and sat around the round table to talk about history and the future, and the atmosphere was quite harmonious and warm.
After the end, Song Qingling got up and shook hands with Peng Chong, the secretary of the municipal party committee, to say goodbye and gave each person a piece of candy. Subsequently, Song Qingling began to sort out the old things and prepare to auction them for money.
No one could have imagined that a person in a high position like her would encounter financial difficulties. In fact, Song Qingling's economic embarrassment mainly comes from her care and concern for the people around her, as well as her huge social network.
She has many foreign friends who come and go frequently, letters, gifts, etc. are a huge expense, plus Song Qingling often subsidizes relatives and is unwilling to take advantage of privileges, which makes the money she has become more and more scarce.
After Song Qingling returned to his residence in Shanghai, he sorted out some items such as ship models, old radios, and jade ornaments, and sold them in batches at the end of January.
She entrusted this task to Li Jiachi, who did not dare to make a claim, and reported it to the leaders of the municipal party committee in advance, and the leaders of the municipal party committee then reported to the central government, and the central government gave instructions to let them properly handle it, so as not to let the items with cultural relics value be left out.
Li Jiachi found the staff of the thrift store to estimate and deal with the old goods, and on the other hand, he followed the advice of the leader and bought the jade ornaments in the name of the Shanghai organ and collected them in the warehouse of the organ.
Immediately afterward, Song Qingling began to clean up the materials of the past, and letters accounted for a large proportion. She didn't allow anyone else to interfere, and it was almost entirely up to her to deal with it.
For each letter, Song Qingling would personally look at it and decide whether it was useful or not, and whether to stay it or not. The workload was enormous, and the elderly lady often suffered from back pain and was particularly tired.
At her insistence, most of the materials were destroyed, leaving only some letters of extremely high historical value, such as the records of her speeches with Dai Jitao, and the letters written to her by Chiang Kai-shek, Li Zongren and others... Song Qingling said: "History is like this, there is land left, useless destruction, is responsible for me, but also responsible for history." ”
Before leaving the Shanghai apartment, Song Qingling, who was in love with the photographer, told the photographer that he must take photos of all the corners and corners of the house.
More than 50 days was the last time she spent with this former residence. She seems to have anticipated the "trick" of her cohabitation and dealt with everything she could handle by herself.
Then, at the invitation of Xinhua News Agency, he spoke to the children of the world and the people of the whole country for the last time in his apartment. At the end of February of that year, because of his work, Song Qingling said goodbye to the mansion in a hurry, and never had the opportunity to return.
03, realize her long-cherished wish: She joined the CCP at the end of her life
In the spring of 1981, Song Qingling was diagnosed with chronic leukemia, and his condition deteriorated very quickly. The central leadership attached great importance to her physical condition and often sent people to visit her. At the same time, an incident that had been delayed for a long time was once again brought to the table of the central leadership.
Wang Guangmei personally went to Zhongnanhai to inquire about the fact that Soong Ching Ling had repeatedly requested to join the CCP organization.
Why didn't Song Qingling, who had worked in the Central Committee of China for many years, join the CCP?
The reasons are complicated. As early as the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Soong Ching Ling had twice written to Chairman Mao to explain his willingness to join the CCP organization, but Chairman Mao persuaded her on the grounds that "there are still many non-party affairs that need her" and temporarily shelved the plan to join the party.
Five years later, When Soong Ching Ling once again confronted Liu Shaoqi in person to join the Party, Liu Shaoqi reported it to Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee, and the central leadership immediately launched relevant discussions, after which Chairman Mao still persuaded her to accept the proposal to stay outside the Party on the grounds that "the cause outside the Party needs Soong Ching Ling" again.
In this way, Song Qingling's joining the party was delayed again and again, until she was terminally ill and still not realized.
After asking the central leaders for permission, Wang Guangmei immediately returned to Song Qingling's hospital room, shook her hand and asked her: "I remember that you wanted to join the CCP, but I don't know if you still think the same thing now?" ”
Song Qingling, who was too ill to speak, nodded slightly, and Wang Guangmei clapped her hand to reassure her. Immediately, Wang Guangmei called directly in the ward to truthfully inform Song Qingling of his wishes.
On May 15 of that year, the central leadership held a relevant emergency meeting to accept Song Qingling's resolution to join the party. In the afternoon of the same day, Liao Chengzhi and others went to visit Song Qingling, told her the news, and conveyed the proposal of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to grant her the title of honorary president of the country.
Soong Ching Ling was very happy and vaguely expressed his gratitude to the CCP. The next day, Deng Xiaoping personally visited Soong Ching-ling and congratulated her.
After 14 days, Song Qingling, who had a long-cherished wish, closed his eyes forever.
Song Qingling's life is undoubtedly great and legendary, and her support and dedication to the revolutionary cause of the motherland and her contributions and assistance to the construction of new China are all achievements that cannot be erased in her lifetime. At the same time, her trust and recognition of the CCP organization is also the most worthy of writing a wonderful chapter in her life story.
At a time when life is coming to an end, becoming a member of the CCP organization is the glory of Soong Ching Ling and the glory of the CCP organization!
Text/Yu Xin
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